The Return
by TheMysticalOne
Summary: Sequel to “Starting New”. Norm has a dream that foretells of a disaster for the Omaticaya tribe. It is up to Jake, Norm, and their new tribe to save the very clan they were exiled from. Norm/Jake Slash
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer –The author of this fan fiction does not, in any way, profit from the story and that all creative rights to the original characters belong to the creator(s) of the movie, Avatar (2009).

Summary – Sequel to "Starting New". Norm has a dream that foretells of a disaster for the Omaticaya tribe. It is up to Jake, Norm, and their new tribe to save the very clan they were exiled from. Norm/Jake Slash

Author's Note: So, yeah, this is kind of overdue, but I finally got into writing it again and thought "Hey! Why I ought to just post this!" Hope you enjoy. Make sure you read the first story "Starting New" before you read this. Oh, and Jake/Norm FOREVER!

Chapter 1

_There was fire everywhere—hot, smoky fire. The smell wafted into my nostrils and I coughed. I staggered, calling Jake's name and desperately searched for him. I walked around a giant, new tree, over ashes and around burning logs. Na'vi were screaming around me in terror. Women were dragging children and men tried to fight back with their weapons. _

_I suddenly realized that fire was not the only enemy. The humans were here. I could barely make out their helicopters in the air. I could hear them shouting in English. They had guns, but not ordinary guns. They were using them to sedate Na'vi—to take them prisoner. There was a female Na'vi close to me who looked to me in fear. She looked relatively familiar and I studied her scared face. It wasn't just any female Na'vi, it was Ni'nat from the Omaticaya tribe. I told her to run, but she wasn't fast enough. Her golden eyes suddenly fogged over and she fell onto the ground harshly. A tranquilizer dart hung off the back of her shoulder. I looked at her prone body wide eyed and ran and ran._

_There was no one that could help me. They were all too busy trying to help themselves. _

I woke up struggling for breath. I heaved in several times and had jumped up. Jake flinched and looked at me wide eyed. I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head.

"What's wrong? You alright?" He asked me in our new language, Leomatican.

I looked into his familiar bright golden eyes and turned my head to look around. I was in our dwelling. I was safe. I swallowed once and took in another breath. It was just a dream—a nightmare. I rubbed my eyes and thought back to the horrendous nightmare. It had seemed _so_ real. How could I have come up with such horrible circumstances for a dream?

"Norm?"

"I had a nightmare," I said and he wrapped an arm around me. I shook my head once, "It felt _so_ real, Jake. I thought…I thought it was really happening."

"Tell me about it," He said, pulling me back down next to him on the hammock.

I heard the rain pouring down outside of our dwelling. Some landed on our small cliff and some went straight down into the sea. It had been raining for three days straight. The splattering of the raindrops on our roof shook me out of my sleep. I pulled our blanket closer around us and considered telling him about the dream.

"I don't know if you're going to want to hear about this," I said, leaning closer into him and pressing my face close to his neck, "I've never had such a vivid dream before."

"Tell me," He repeated.

I paused and began, "There was a fire—here on Pandora. Everything was in flames. That's how it started. Then the humans came. They were chasing after Na'vi. They were trying to take people prisoner. Why would they want to take us prisoner, Jake? What do they want from us?!"

"Norm, it's alright. It was just a dream."

He put a calming hand around my shoulder and pulled me even closer to him. I relaxed in the embrace for a while and rethought the dream. I wanted to believe that it was just a dream. I wanted to believe that it was just my mind playing some evil trick on me.

"I don't think it was just a dream, Jake."

"What do you mean? You think it's some kind of sign?"

"Mo'at told me once that she sometimes had dreams of things to come. What if this is our future?"

He shook his head, "It was just a dream. It's not like you dreamt about anybody specifically, anyway."

I paused and looked at his large yellow eyes, "But I did! I was there and the woman…I knew her. It was Ni'nat."

"What?"

"Now why would I dream about Ni'nat? I barely knew her. She was a stranger to me while I lived with the Omaticaya. I think this dream _means_ something Jake. I can't just let it go by. What if something horrible is going to happen?" I demanded to know, sitting up slightly and leaning on my elbow, "I can't just ignore this."

"But the likelihood that something like this would happen is so small."

"There were other Na'vi there, Jake. It wasn't just me and her. I could see blue people. I could hear their screams. I just couldn't see their faces. We should tell Ala'kan."

I threw the blanket off of me and jumped out of the hammock so fast that I almost fell on my face. Jake followed after me a moment later as I ventured out into the cool rain. He put his hand on my shoulder to stop me before I started heading up the rocks. I tried to shake him off. It wasn't too early to tell him. The sky was starting to lighten, even though the rain would not stop.

"Jake, we have to tell him! He should know!"

"You're going to scare him to death. Ni'nat is his sister. If you go in there and say that she's going to be held hostage by a bunch of demented humans then-"

I shook his hand off and continued, wiping away beads of rain gathering on my forehead and onto my cold arms, "I don't _care_ Jake. I had this dream. Not you! It means _something_!"

"But you _know_ Ala'kan! He's going to want to gather up everyone and go after them. We can't just-"

I turned around swiftly and he about ran into me. I shook my head and grabbed his braid, yanking his head slightly and pulling the queue towards my own, "Do I have to _show_ you?"

He just made a face, but I let the tendrils connect. His eyes dilated quickly and his face changed from slightly annoyed to horrified only seconds later. I showed him images of the fire and of the Na'vi being so roughly shot with the darts. I showed him Ni'nat's horrified expression and then her fall. I showed her the other Na'vi who were running, running desperately from their captors.

He put his hand to his head and pushed his hair away from his forehead, "That was…that was…."

"We have to tell Ala'kan."

This time he didn't stop me. He followed close behind me as I practically ran over to the olo'eyktan's dwelling hut. It was slightly larger than the other clan members, but not too elaborately decorated. I didn't bother with knocking. I approached the leather and wooden dwelling and pushed the curtain of beads in the doorway aside. I went inside and let my eyes adjust to the lack of light. I had half expected him to already be awake, but it must have been even earlier than I had guessed. Ala'kan was fast asleep in his hammock. He was lying on his back with one arm flung over his head and the other wrapped tightly around his mate, Telan. A thick blanket of warm animal hide was thrown over the two of them. Telan was lying face down on his mate's chest and a partial expanse of his buttocks and tail were on display where the blanket had slid off of him.

"Ala'kan…" I said, not really wanting to disturb his privacy, but knowing it was important. He didn't even stir, so I said it a little louder, "Ala'kan!"

Telan was the one who finally looked up at me. He twitched slightly and scowled, reaching down to pull up the rest of the blanket.

"What do you want?" He asked in a high whisper.

"I need to speak with Ala'kan. It's important. Please wake him and tell him to meet with me," I said with a slight nod and stepped back outside their hut.

Jake was waiting out there for me with a wry grin on his face, "You have some balls to go into the chief's hut and demand his presence."

I managed to look a bit bashful, "I just feel that it's important."

I heard some commotion in the hut and Ala'kan made his appearance a moment later. He looked concerned and probably took it seriously when I asked for him so early in the morning. Jake and I had been living with the Leomatica for over a year. I had never been so adamant in speaking with him before.

"What is it, Norm?"

"Thank you for…coming out so quickly. I apologize for waking you so early, but I had a dream. I think it's a sign."

Ala'kan looked around at the rain that polished the grass and trees. He looked at me and nodded, "Come with me. Let's go somewhere dry."

He led Jake and I to the cafeteria where we eat the majority of our meals. The three of us sat down on the floor in a small circle. Ala'kan ran his hand through his dark hair and fingered the feathers hanging from his neck.

"What did you see in this dream of yours, Norm?"

I quickly told Ala'kan about the fire. I told him how it was everywhere and it was close to impossible to breath. I told him how I had felt my eyes water from the smoke. I told him about the Na'vi who were so desperate to get away from the humans. I explained how I could hear their screams of terror. I told him of the woman who had fallen to the ground so close to me.

Ala'kan's eyebrows rose and he shifted from side to side. Jake nodded encouragingly, so I continued.

"The woman was Ni'nat."

"Ni'nat?!" He demanded to know suddenly, his expression completely changing.

I nodded, "I know it's hard to believe, but it all seemed so real. After seeing Ni'nat, I woke up. I don't think I could have taken seeing anymore."

"And you think this is some kind of sign?" He asked, especially concerned after hearing about his sister from the Omaticaya tribe.

I nodded, "I think Eywa sent me this dream as a warning of what's to come. She wants me us to help prevent the attack, if possible. I wouldn't tell you this unless I was absolutely certain. You must believe me."

He looked at me for a while and said, "You have been honest with us so far, Norm. You have excellent healing abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if Eywa has gifted you with the gift of foresight as well. But, do you think this can be prevented?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if it's _real_, but it seems like it. I just couldn't let it go. Jake didn't believe me. I _had_ to make him believe me. I showed him."

"You made tsahaylu?" Ala'kan asked.

"Yes, it was the only way to make him believe."

"And you saw what he saw, Jake?" He asked, looking at my mate.

"Yes, I was shocked. I didn't expect it to seem so…vivid. What he said was all true," Jake admitted.

Ala'kan closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. He exhaled a breath and his bright eyes opened and looked at me.

"I cannot make tsahaylu with you, Norm. It is not the way of our people, especially since we are both already mated. But, there _is_ another way you can show me what you saw."

Ala'kan took us both on a short walk further up the mountain. We followed him and as I climbed higher I suddenly realized where he was going. There was a Tree of Trust on the top of the mountain. It was the same tree that we had our bonding ceremony at. It was one way we could make a connection through Eywa. When we arrived, the large blue tree swayed in the wind and rain. I wiped off some rain droplets and followed Ala'kan to the tree. He took his long braid and allowed the tendrils to attach to the leaves.

"Show me, Norm."

I paused, a little unsure, but nodded. I allowed my queue to connect. I showed him the fire, the abductions. I showed him the angry humans with their tranquilizers. I showed him Ni'nat. He pulled away the queue after a moment or two and looked at me sternly.

"We will go on Toruk," He said and looked over at Jake, "Go wake the warriors."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Well, I was hoping to get at least some reviews for the last chapter, but I didn't get any. It was a little disheartening. It was especially so when I saw that people were adding my story to their favorite list or updating list, but not bothering to leave a little review. Please leave a review. I love to read your comments and ideas. Thanks!

Chapter 2

I ended up watching Telan and Ala'kan argue about leaving for a good fifteen minutes. Telan was stubborn, but had a lot of spirit. He didn't want to up and leave. He said there wasn't enough proof that anyone was in danger. It was rather funny to see Ala'kan roughly grab his braid and make tsahaylu. That was the only way to get our overly proud warrior to see the truth of the dream.

"Do you see it?" Ala'kan practically yelled at him in his native language of Omaticayan, "It's Ni'nat!"

I wasn't sure if Telan had ever actually even met Ni'nat before, but he seemed to understand his mate's rather hysterical take on the dream.

"I see," Telan said with a defeated nod.

The other warriors were roused from their sleep. It was early and they did not move quickly. Ala'kan was determined to get them going and chastened them for moving slowly. He had them pack a bag for themselves and gather their weapons. They were reluctant to leave and many were skeptical about my dream. However, Ala'kan was a trustworthy leader and his clan had confidence in his decision.

One of the warriors, Pelna, walked over to Ala'kan, "But there is hunting to do. We cannot just up and leave. Ala'kan-"

"We _will_. The Omaticaya need our assistance, Pelna."

"What if Norm was wrong? What if…what if it was a mistake?"

"It wasn't a _mistake_," I told him, obviously overhearing the conversation, "I know what I saw. It wasn't just any ordinary dream. It meant something. You have to believe me. If we help them there's the chance we could save many lives. Do you wish to just ignore it?"

"The Omaticaya will not be happy to see us," Pelna said.

"They will when they realize we are there to help them."

Pelna inclined his head and looked into my golden eyes. His eyes wavered for only a minute as he studied me, "I have heard rumors about why you and Jake came here. I know you were from the Omaticaya first. I heard you were…exiled. Is that the truth, Norm? If it is, why would you ever want to go back?"

"Because you and Ati'ca are my friends. Before I came to the Leomatica, I had friends in the Omaticaya tribe that I was close to also. They need my help. I don't care if I was exiled and neither does Jake."

"You put us at great risk Norm," He said and then turned towards his olo'eyktan, "But if Ala'kan wishes for us to go, then I will go."

The three of us watched him walk back to his dwelling place. Jake sighed openly and Ala'kan turned towards me.

"They did not see your dream Norm. They do not understand," Ala'kan said and watched the group of warriors begin to grow, "It is almost time."

We left the tribe at midday. We spent the morning packing and gathering the Toruk's. There were 12 of us flying including the ones that rode double, like Jake and I. I still had not attempted to tame my own Toruk. I had not the interest. I couldn't help but still be nervous about heights. We walked down to the side of the cliff. Jake called Shadow from where she rests upon the side of the mountain. She came up only moments later. He jumped onto her back and made tsahaylu. I nervously followed behind him, wrapping both arms around his waist. I put the messenger style bag that carried out belongings off to the side and held on for dear life as he cawed and we took off.

Ala'kan, Telan, Jake, and I were in the lead. We were all relatively quiet for a moment and only the intense flapping of the Toruk's wings could be heard. We headed towards the Omaticaya tribe. It was a long trip, probably about 4 days. Ala'kan had no second thoughts about going. I knew he was concerned for Ni'nat. I watched him in front of us. He had both arms around his mate and both were lost in thought. His long braid flew out behind him as the wind picked it up.

"I hope this is the right thing," I told Jake after a few minutes of flying.

He looked back at me and frowned, "Are you having second thoughts?"

"Only because of what Pelna said. What if he's right? What if they are not happy to see us? We were exiled from the tribe. And of course, Ala'kan left for practically the same reason."

"You showed me what you saw, Norm. I believe you. Don't doubt yourself. If we help them, they will have no choice but to be grateful. And if they're not, remember that you're doing it from the goodness of your heart."

I nodded and leaned my head slightly against his own. I sighed and squeezed him tightly. We rode for one day straight and I continued to hang onto Jake for dear life. I was beginning to tire from the long trip and took a small canister of water out of my bag. I handed it to Jake, who thanked me and took a sip. He handed it back to me. I looked over the side of the Toruk. There were no more floating mountains—only an endless sea of bright blue water.

I looked ahead of us and noticed Telan was leaning back slightly on his own Toruk and Ala'kan was holding him around the waist for support. It was no wonder our tribe was not even heard of. It took so long to travel here. I remembered how desperate we had been to find the place. I was so glad we had.

We landed safely on the ground by the many Tree of Souls a few hours later. It was almost nightfall and we quickly prepared a fire and sat around together. Some warriors went out to hunt, to find food for the evening. Our Toruk's were thankful for the break, as were we.

Ala'kan was crouched in front of the fire, deep in thought after many of the Na'vi had retired for the night. I approached slowly and he seemed to be shaken from his daydream. He turned towards me and nodded. I joined him on the ground as he resumed staring deeply into the fire.

"Can I ask you something, Ala'kan?" I started slowly.

"What is on your mind, Norm?"

I hesitated before asking, "I just always wondered why you left the Omaticaya. I guessed it had something to do with Telan, but I never was sure."

He sighed and sat back. He seemed to be agitated, not with me, but at the situation. His golden eyes met my own, "I did not know Telan at the time. We met later. When I lived with the Omaticaya my preference towards men was not known. I kept it to myself a long time. I knew what they would think of me. It wasn't until I trained my own Ikran that I met someone. His name was Yaris. He was learning to hunt, as I was. We were similar in age and good friends. He was a strong Na'vi, proud. We had fun together, but I didn't share my preference with him. There had been a celebration and Yaris and I drank a lot of _uli_. It was stupid of me. I told him how I felt."

"Long story short, he didn't feel the same way as I did. Nothing was ever said out loud, but I knew he told his friends. I knew he told his family. I was treated differently after that. He avoided me, as did many others. It was a sharp blow for me. I felt uncomfortable thereon. I left the tribe one day—just out of the blue. I said goodbye to my family and left. I traveled for a few months before finding the Leomatican tribe. I was spellbound by their Toruk's and the way they lived. There were many women at that time, but also many men. The tribe was more open minded than most. That's when I met Telan. He was what I had been looking for. We shared the same feelings. We were together for over two years before having our ceremony. It was one of the first between two males."

I looked at Ala'kan's smiling face as he reminisced, "You seem happy."

"Oh I am. All that time and all that trouble had finally paid off. Telan and I have been mated for five years now," He said and seemed to glow.

Telan approached not long after and told Ala'kan he was going to bed. Ala'kan looked at me, looked at Telan and took off only moments later. I grinned to myself and got up. I dusted myself off and walked away from the fire. I found Jake speaking to a few members of the tribe not far away. Jake noticed me and walked over.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked him.

He looked concerned and nodded. I offered a long sigh and looked around the encampment where Na'vi were retiring for the evening.

"What is it?" Jake questioned.

"I'm nervous about going back," I admitted, meeting his bright golden eyes.

He nodded once and the spots on his face glowed in the evening light, "So am I."

"I was so moved by that dream that I didn't even stop to think about what would happen when we get there. What happens if they don't _want_ our help. What happens if they are angry?"

Jake shuffled his feet, nodding all the while. He grabbed his queue and stroked the braid, which had become a nervous gesture the last few months.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," I explained.

He stopped and looked at me, "You were so adamant about saying how real the dream felt. When you showed me, I felt it too. The thing is—I can feel it Norm. I can feel some kind of evil upon us. It's like static electricity. It's in the air. It's all around us. I'm nervous too. I can't help but think that we're going back to the tribe we were exiled from—the tribe that tried to kill us. I can't help but worry. I can't help but worry about me, about you—about everyone! I keep thinking that we're leading our new tribe to their deaths. Yet, at the same time I _know_ we have to do something. We can't just let it happen."

"Ala'kan told me about why he left. The situation was similar to ours, except no one tried to kill him. I just worry about what will happen when we get there," I said, grabbing onto Jake's arm and unconsciously tracing the darker blue strips that lie there.

Jake put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a little squeeze, "We're different now. All of us. We're stronger than we used to be. No matter what happens, we're doing it for the right reasons."

Later that night I lay awake in Jake's arms. He had been restless at first, but eventually fell into a light sleep. I, however, couldn't sleep. I kept seeing images of Na'vi running for their lives. I saw the fire. I saw the guns. I saw Ni'nat. I was up early, before the rest of the tribe, due to my lack of sleep. I started an early morning meal for Jake and I as the rest of the warriors were roused from their sleep.

"Did you sleep at _all_ last night?" Jake questioned as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and approached me.

"No, it was impossible," I replied, handing him some steaming meat.

The clan members ate quickly and we were all soon on our way. The feeling of evil and of dread was upon us all. Any feelings of contentment were gone and everyone seemed on high alert. We knew we would arrive in a few days. The problem was, we didn't know what we would find. We stayed close together as we flew. We stopped briefly for a few hours a day, mostly to give our Toruk and the rider's at least a little rest. The riders were exhausted. Jake slept for hours as soon as we dismounted. We were both incredibly sore from riding. Jake was stiff and told me his shoulders and upper body ached. I just told him my ass hurt like hell. The evening of the second day Ala'kan held a meeting for all involved.

"We will dismount half a day's walk from the Omaticaya tribe. We will send in a search party to see what the status of the tribe is. Then, if needed, we will attack. We will be inconspicuous. We want to surprise them. We will ride in on Toruk. They will be watching the sky for Ikran. We must be careful. We do not know what to expect. We do not want their tribe to think we are attacking _them_. Do _not_ attack any Na'vi. That is not the reason we are here. Be on high alert for humans. Make no mistakes," He told the tribe as he paced around a small clearing.

"What if we don't find anything unusual?" Someone asked.

Ala'kan stopped pacing and turned around. I had never seen him so guarded, so strong before. He was ordinarily so carefree. Never had I seen him so serious, "Do you not smell the smoke in the air? Do you not feel it on your skin? The humans are here. I have no doubts."

The following day we dismounted near a river. The smell of smoke was stronger now. It whifted into our nostrils and attacked our senses. The trees were unusually still and the animals had moved on to a less polluted area. One of the riders suffered from a largely spread rash and I rubbed ointment onto the area. He squirmed impatiently and demanded to know when I was going to be done.

"Soon enough," I responded.

I let him go soon after and Telan approached me as he pulled his bow and arrow over his shoulder to secure tightly around his chest, "Where is Jake?"

"He was hunting," I replied, sealing up the ointment and putting it back into my stash, "Why do you ask?"

"Ala'kan wants Jake to join the search party. He is familiar with the Omaticaya. He can speak their language," He responded.

"So can you."

"Yes, that is why I am also going. Ala, Jake, and I will go."

"What?" I demanded, "No, you're not taking Jake. If you take him and you get caught…he's not going!"

"Norm-"

"The Omaticaya hate us now. If they spot him they might think we're involved with the kidnapping. They might try to kill him! They don't know we're here to help. We can't just sneak up on them. They're bound to notice. And what about the humans? Do you think they don't have guards? Do you think they're not prepared for something like this?"

Telan opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He closed his mouth after a moment or so and pursed his lips, "What do you suggest we do then, Norm?"

"I'm coming with you," I said.

"You…what?" He asked.

"I'm coming with you. Who better to fight the humans than a former human?" I said loudly.

He looked surprised to see me so adamant about coming. I was normally quiet and kept to myself. Jake and I had tried to blend in as much as possible. Telan's brows furrowed for a moment and he glanced at my hands. I realized he was looking at my fingers—my extra humanlike fingers.

"You forgot," I whispered, looking downward.

He nodded once, "You do not seem human to me anymore."

"Things have changed."

"You are right," He responded.

"I'm coming with you," I said firmly, "You're not taking my mate on some spy mission and expecting me to stay here and bite my nails all afternoon. I'm coming with you."

He frowned at my odd use of words, but nodded. As second in command only to his mate, the olo'eyktan, he was in charge of the mission.

"Find Jake. Let us go," He instructed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay. It took me a while to figure out how exactly I wanted this chapter to play out. Hope you're happy with it. Thanks so much for the generous reviews!

Chapter 3

The four of us trudged through the thick jungles of Pandora for hours on foot. I hadn't walked so much in such a long time. We were quiet the smoke was heavy. Ala'kan was in the lead with Telan following close behind and Jake bringing up the rear. The air was getting warmer and we were sticky with sweat. Ala'kan stopped suddenly and turned around. Our eyes met his and we followed his gaze. There was an opening in the trees and I could see the new Hometree in the distance.

It was on fire.

The flames were rising high and I found that I couldn't speak. I only watch wide eyed as the enormous tree was engulfed by flames. Telan squeezed the knife in his hands and Jake followed even closer, if possible.

"We should not go any further," I heard Telan whisper to Ala'kan.

"We need to see more. We need to know if there are humans. We need to see how many," Ala'kan said, without turning around.

He began climbing up a rock wall quickly and I heard Telan curse as he followed behind his mate. Suddenly Ala'kan stopped climbing and slid down slightly, practically falling on top of Telan.

"What is it? What do you see?" Jake asked from below.

Jake somehow managed to climb around to come up beside our clan leader. The two of them had stopped talking and were staring over the side of the hill. Jake looked down suddenly and lent me a hand, dragging me to be by him. I hung onto some roots and overgrown vines as the four of us looked out in shock. There were humans alright. There were many, many of them. It was an operation. There was a temporary human shelter. There were humans with expo-masks and guns. There was fire everywhere. It was just like my dream.

"We need to leave. We need to go," Jake said suddenly, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me down.

"But—Ni'nat!" Ala'kan said suddenly and looked to be in pain.

Telan grabbed his arm before he did something stupid.

"We will come back when we are prepared to _fight_ back," Telan said in a high whisper.

Ala'kan squeezed the root he was hanging on so hard his knuckles turned white. He growled at no one in particular and let go roughly. Any human would have fallen to their death, but Ala'kan landed gracefully on the ground and without any word, began the trek back to our clan's site. Telan caught up to him fairly quickly, but Jake and I had to run to keep up. Ala'kan was angry. I didn't blame him.

"We'll attack from overhead. We'll bank left and come in from the north. They won't expect a Toruk. We'll put our best hunters in front. Jake, you and Norm. Pelna, Ati'ca, Mauro, Q'lin-"

Ala'kan stopped suddenly and looked down at the ground. He grabbed his left arm unexpectedly and frowned. I inhaled deeply, looking wide eyed at our clan leader before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed onto the ground. Telan was down at his side in a moment's time, stricken as he pulled a needle out of his mate's arm. He was up in a flash, pulling out his arrows and bow. We followed suit.

I didn't move in those moments. I didn't even breath. The three of us were back to back, searching out the woods, trying to find where the shot had come from. I pulled back on my bow and tried to remain steady. I tried to remain calm.

"Put down your weapons and you won't be hurt," Someone said in Omaticayan.

We were surrounded suddenly by four men with tranquilizer guns. They were dressed for battle with shielding armor and expo-masks.

"Put _down_ your weapons," The same man said again.

The other just laughed and said, "The savages don't understand a word you're saying, Boss. They're just wild animals. Just sedate them and take them in."

It was strange hearing English after so long. It was even stranger hearing it from Jake's mouth, "Who are you calling savages, you motherfucking bastards!"

Jake let his arrow loose and it hit the last man who spoke in his upper chest. He didn't have another chance to speak. He crumpled to the ground, grabbing at his chest as he slowly faded away. The others looked shocked and aimed their weapons high.

"How do you know English?" The first man asked, still aiming his gun.

"Put down your fucking gun and maybe I'll tell you," Jake replied, grabbing another arrow and quickly putting that one into place.

I glanced at Telan who looked torn between helping his mate and fighting against these strange creatures. He had only heard stories about humans. He'd never seen one in real life. These humans were particularly stupid and refused to put down their guns. Jake didn't give them a second chance and shot at the closest one next to him. The arrow hit the man in the neck. He tried to shoot his gun, but his aim was unsteady and the needle went flying off in the wrong direction. Telan sideswept it and bared teeth, hissing at him.

That made the humans even more angry, if possible. But Telan and Jake weren't just hunters, they were warriors, and for good reason. It didn't take much more on their parts to become angry. Jake somehow managed to take three quick steps towards the humans and knock their little guns out of their hands. Telan followed close behind, ready for the kill. The humans were much shorter than us. Our fear at being shot at had turned quickly into anger.

Telan pulled his knife out of nowhere and aimed it at one of the remaining men, while Jake drilled the other.

"Who _are_ you? Why are you here on Pandora. Why are you taking prisoners?" Jake asked him all at once.

The man's eyes narrowed and he seemed to ignore Jake's own long blade that was against his neck.

"I should be asking the same of you," The man replied, struggling against Jake.

"You're the prisoner now," Jake replied, "I could rip off this little mask of yours and you'll be unconscious in a minute. I could hit you up with one of these little needles. What do you think…might put a Na'vi to sleep, but I'm _sure_ it will kill a human."

There was an unusual stillness around us and I whipped around suddenly and found myself face to face with several more humans.

"Jake-" I whispered.

He turned slightly, looking at them. Seconds went by and we were surrounded by more humans with tranquilizer guns. I looked at the guns closer and realized they weren't tranquilizers this time, they were real guns. The men aimed and I held my breath.

"Wait. This one speaks English," The man said, pointing at Jake.

"Hmm," One of them mumbled. I couldn't see his face very good because of the mask, but he took a step forward, "Must have been taught by Augustine and her cronies. Best to take them in. Perhaps they can be used for information."

There was a flash out of the corner of my eye and suddenly Telan was on top of one of the humans, the blade pressed against his neck. He took no time in pressing down and killing the man.

"Telan!"

I tried to stop the man with the tranquilizer, but I wasn't fast enough and neither was Jake. Telan was shot in the lower back. He hissed in pain and went suddenly limp, collapsing on top of the man.

"Dammit," Jake muttered, finally putting down his arrow.

"Next time we won't be so kind with your friends," The human said, nodding at me.

We were surrounded. Unless we wanted to be shot with tranquilizer guns or worse we really didn't have much choice but to give up. Jake looked back at me once. I gazed into his bright yellow eyes and slowly furrowed my brows. It was just him and me now.

"Bring them down," Someone behind us said.

It was only seconds later the humans were on us. We were much taller than them, but our weakness was our numbers. There were only two of us left. I cursed out loud and tried to ward off the humans coming at us.

"Give them the sedative. Let's go here folks…" the same man said.

I attempted a getaway, but it was useless. One of the humans was behind me, pulling me down and bending my arms at an unusual angle. I hissed at him, baring my canines and felt the ropes being put around my hands. I felt the stick of the needle only seconds later. I panicked, trying to pull away, but getting nowhere. My vision blurred and I felt dizzy and disoriented. I expected to immediately fall and become unconscious like Ala'kan and Telan, but it didn't happen. The sedative was a lower dose. I stumbled and fell to my feet.

"Norm! Norm? Dammit—get off of me…Norm?" Jake called from not far away.

Once I was the ground there was no escape. The humans were above me and I looked at them through half closed, foggy amber eyes. I cursed at them, but it was slurred together. I felt drunk, tired as I looked up at their human faces as I lay on the forest floor. The humans around me were shouting out orders to the others. I struggled to stay awake, but it was no use. Unconsciousness overpowered me completely.

Waking was a slow process. I would be in some sort of semi-consciousness for several minutes before succumbing to sleep once again. It wasn't until I felt someone slapping me that I finally woke up. I looked into the bright yellow eyes of a female Na'vi and frowned in confusion.

"Wake up. Wake up," She said several times in Omaticayan.

"Wha-what's going on," I said and tried to protect myself from her hitting hands, "Stop that."

"Wake up," She repeated.

I rubbed my tired eyes, wondering what the problem was.

"I need your aide," She said, looking down at the leathers on my arms, "I see you are a shaman. I need your help."

"Mei'Rae?" I asked, still very confused.

She gave me an odd look and shook her head, "How do you know my name?"

"You…you don't remember," I said, putting a hand to my head.

"Remember? Remember what?" She asked, pulling on my arm once again, "Come. Help us."

I struggled so sit up and noticed that we were not the only Na'vi in the small encampment. There were several others. Many seemed to be ill or injured. Others looked thin and malnourished. I wondered how long they had been here like this. There was a tall metal fence around the camp. There was no way we could climb it. I staggered to my feet and hung onto the fence. She followed me up and stood there, staring at me.

"Come. Please help my mate. He is very ill," She said, pulling on my arm until I obeyed.

We walked over to a slightly more shady area and knelt down by a very thin, very ill Na'vi. I stared at the male Na'vi in front of me. I remembered it like yesterday. I remember the hatred, the anger. It was Xanos. He was the one who had betrayed us. He was the one who exiled us. I closed my eyes briefly and when I opened them Mei'Rae was laying over his body, running her large blue hands over his forehead.

"He has been ill for many days. The humans refuse to help him," She said, shaking her head, "But you—you're a shaman. You can help."

My first reaction was to just walk away. I wanted to so badly, but I knew it wouldn't be the right thing to do. He couldn't hurt me. He was sick—very sick by the looks of it. After staring into space for a moment, her eyes met mine and she looked so concerned.

"Please," She encouraged, "Look at him."

I nodded once and began to assess his illness. I felt the inside of his wrist and timed his pulse, which was very slow. He seemed to be struggling to breathe and looked rather pale for a Na'vi.

"Does he have any injuries?" I asked.

"When they caught him he was cut here," She said, pointing to his side where a small, but deep cut had been made, "Why would that cause this?"

She indicated his sick pallor and took his hand.

"He has an infection," I said, noting the discharge from the wound, "Is there anything here to clean it with? Are there any medical supplies?"

"No, not really. The humans are not helpful."

"He needs to start a cycle of antibiotics. This wound needs to be cleaned soon. There is not much time," I told her.

She nodded and took a deep breath, looking at him. She sniffled and then looked at him. She lowered her head and wiped furiously at her eyes.

"Will he die?"

"He may," I said gently, "If he does not get help."

She eyed me for a moment and sat back on her knees. She folded her hands in her lap and pursed her lips, "I lied before."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shaking my head slightly.

She nodded and took a deep breath, "I know who you are—Normspellman."

I didn't know what to say. I was surprised. She gave no indication of knowing me. I was quiet and she continued on.

"You shouldn't have come here. Why did you come back? The humans have ruined everything," She said, sitting back and resting against the fence, "You should not have come."

"We came to help," I explained, but was still very confused, "If you knew who I was, then why did you ask for my help?"

Her large amber eyes met mine once, "Mo'at was a very skilled Tsahik. She went with Eywa only two months after you left and we had no one to be a shaman. She gave all of her knowledge to you. You seem different now. You are older, perhaps wiser. Where did you go?"

I furrowed my brows and shook my head, "I would rather not say. I don't know if I can trust you."

She nodded once, "I cannot say that I blame you. What we did was wrong. I am surprised that you are alive. I figured that Xanos and the warriors killed you and Jakesully."

I only shook my head, unsure of what to say.

"Is Jakesully here?"

"Yes."

"Did they capture him too?"

"Yes."

"Is he going to save us?"

I glanced at her and made a face, "How can you _expect_ Jake to help you after all you did to him—to us?"

"I'm sorry for what happened to you. I-I never wanted Jakesully to be chief. Xanos was _supposed_ to be chief if Tsu'Tey ever passed. Then Jakesully came in and changed everything," She said, shaking her head and glancing at me, "I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I just wanted Xanos to be olo'eyktan."

"And did he get to be?"

"Yes."

I cleared my throat and stood up quickly. I walked away, back out into the sunlight and looked through the fence at the humans walking around in their expo-masks. This wasn't how this was supposed to be. We were supposed to help the people. We weren't supposed to be captured. Where was Jake? Where did they take him? At the time it seemed like a good idea to speak English to them, but now I knew better. Why did this happen?


End file.
